It all started with 1984, as so many things do. I wanted students to see how the ideas in the book were splashed across the world around them – yes, in their magazines and ads, but also in the current events they saw on the news and the news sites covering them.
So I asked them to create collages, connecting 1984 to their lives.
As we put the collages up across one wall on the classroom, the startling connections between what they were reading and what they were seeing in the world around them sprang out in bright colors. Sitting beside us as we discussed and wrote about the novel, they provided a constant reminder that Orwell’s writing was as relevant as it gets, many decades later.
So am I suggesting you do a context collage next time YOU teach Orwell? Nope, today I want to suggest that a context collage as a stellar go-to anytime you’re trying to help students see the connections between a text and their lives.
Let me walk you through it.
Setting up a Context Collage
A context collage is a relatively easy project to set up. But you do want to create guidelines that will help students carefully link specific words from your text to ideas and events happening in the world around them. You do NOT want them to print everything they find with a simple keyword search like “images of the American Dream” and then glue it all together.
You might start by asking students to find at least three quotations highlighting an issue or theme in the text that they’ll connect to the world around them.
Then you could share a list of possible media they could draw upon – headlines, political cartoons, photographs, illustrations, infographics, etc.
Ask them to organize their collage so as to draw clear parallels between the ideas in the book and the imagery they present, possibly highlighted further with their use of color and font, and explained in an accompanying paragraph or short paper.
One Example: A Dystopian Context Collage
Here’s an example I created recently for my dystopian book clubs unit.
Dystopian art and media might explore political systems, environmental issues, questions around AI, global conflicts, and more.
Choose an issue you see at play in your chosen dystopian text and find 3 quotations that demonstrate its role in the text. Create a collage of media from out in the world that highlights this issue. Then write a few sentences connecting the quotations you found, the collage that you’ve made, and the way the text explores or seeks to influence around the issue.
You might find headlines, political cartoons, photographs, illustrations, etc. You may add your own original art as you wish. Your collage can be digital or physical.
Include a list of sources for your work. You do not need to complete a full sources cited, but link your sources on a separate slide if your collage is digital, and list them on the back if it is physical.
Your Turn: Create a Context Collage Project for any Book
Ready to try it? I bet you’ve already got a book in mind that you’d love to see collaged across your classroom walls!
